Today, the USA is celebrating. The Fourth of July is Independence Day, a huge national celebration of all things American. Expect fireworks, parades, barbecues, fairs, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches and apple pie, proverbially known as the nation's favourite dessert. This explosion of patrioticShowing love and pride for your country. fervour is really a kind of birthday party for the country. It was on this day in 1776 that America's 'Founding Fathers' issued the Declaration of Independence, splitting the American colonies away from the British EmpireA group of countries that were once ruled or controlled by the UK, including Australia, Canada, India and large parts of Africa.. Their famous words are still regarded with almost religious respect by US citizens: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Today's celebrations represent a national rededication to this founding creed, which remains at the heart of the "American DreamIn the Declaration of Independence, all US citizens are promised the right to 'Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.' This has come to mean opportunity for anyone to succeed, whatever their background or origins.". America is not the only country to celebrate its defining national moment. In France, for instance, it's all about Bastille Day on 14 July. Formally called La Fete Nationale (The National Celebration) it commemorates the storming of the Bastille on 14 July, 1789. This fortress-prison was used to hold political prisoners whose writings upset the monarchy and therefore stood as a symbol of royal absolutism. As it happened, at the time of the siege, there were only seven inmates, none of great political significance. But its capture by the people remains a powerful symbol of the overthrow of the old order and the birth of the modern nation. The reasons for national days vary a great deal and they are not always political. On 12 October, Spain celebrates the anniversary of Christopher ColumbusA 15th Century Italian explorer and navigator whose trips across the Atlantic opened the way for European colonisation of the Americas. 's discovery of the Americas. In Ireland on 17 March they remember St Patrick, the saint credited with bringing Christianity to the country in the 5th Century. Out of date? England doesn't have a national day. Remembrance Day on 11 November commemorates those who died in the two World Wars, but there's no apple pie or national holiday — just a two-minute silence. Is this a loss? Some believe national days unify the people around a shared and inspiring moment of history. Others say they lock a country into ancient myths that no longer speak to the changing ethnic and social mix in each nation. Australia's national day on 26 January marks the arrival of the British fleet in Sydney Cove in 1788. They call it Australia Day, but then indigenousEthnic groups who are the original or earliest-known inhabitants of an area or country: for example, Native Americans in the USA. Aborigines give it a different name: Invasion Day. Q & A Isn't apple pie English?:The first written evidence of apple pie dates to a 14th Century English recipe. English pilgrims probably brought apple seeds to the US so their national pudding isn't American at all. But when it comes to nations, myths are often more important than facts. When is China's national day? 1 October. It commemorates the day in 1949 when Chairman Mao founded the new communist state of the People's Republic of China. The day is followed by the "Golden Week" when people are given time off to visit relatives and travel. Are most national days about independence? They are, although South Africa's 27 April celebrations remember the end of apartheidA system of legally-enshrined racial discrimination and oppression which existed in South Africa from 1948 until the 1990s. It denied non-white South Africans basic human rights. and the country's first democratic election in 1994. Denmark and the UK are among the few nations who don't have a special day.KeywordsPatriotic - Showing love and pride for your country.
Fireworks, flags and the Fourth of July
Today, the USA is celebrating. The Fourth of July is Independence Day, a huge national celebration of all things American. Expect fireworks, parades, barbecues, fairs, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches and apple pie, proverbially known as the nation's favourite dessert. This explosion of patrioticShowing love and pride for your country. fervour is really a kind of birthday party for the country. It was on this day in 1776 that America's 'Founding Fathers' issued the Declaration of Independence, splitting the American colonies away from the British EmpireA group of countries that were once ruled or controlled by the UK, including Australia, Canada, India and large parts of Africa.. Their famous words are still regarded with almost religious respect by US citizens: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Today's celebrations represent a national rededication to this founding creed, which remains at the heart of the "American DreamIn the Declaration of Independence, all US citizens are promised the right to 'Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.' This has come to mean opportunity for anyone to succeed, whatever their background or origins.". America is not the only country to celebrate its defining national moment. In France, for instance, it's all about Bastille Day on 14 July. Formally called La Fete Nationale (The National Celebration) it commemorates the storming of the Bastille on 14 July, 1789. This fortress-prison was used to hold political prisoners whose writings upset the monarchy and therefore stood as a symbol of royal absolutism. As it happened, at the time of the siege, there were only seven inmates, none of great political significance. But its capture by the people remains a powerful symbol of the overthrow of the old order and the birth of the modern nation. The reasons for national days vary a great deal and they are not always political. On 12 October, Spain celebrates the anniversary of Christopher ColumbusA 15th Century Italian explorer and navigator whose trips across the Atlantic opened the way for European colonisation of the Americas. 's discovery of the Americas. In Ireland on 17 March they remember St Patrick, the saint credited with bringing Christianity to the country in the 5th Century. Out of date? England doesn't have a national day. Remembrance Day on 11 November commemorates those who died in the two World Wars, but there's no apple pie or national holiday - just a two-minute silence. Is this a loss? Some believe national days unify the people around a shared and inspiring moment of history. Others say they lock a country into ancient myths that no longer speak to the changing ethnic and social mix in each nation. Australia's national day on 26 January marks the arrival of the British fleet in Sydney Cove in 1788. They call it Australia Day, but then indigenousEthnic groups who are the original or earliest-known inhabitants of an area or country: for example, Native Americans in the USA. Aborigines give it a different name: Invasion Day.
Keywords
Patriotic - Showing love and pride for your country.
British Empire - A group of countries that were once ruled or controlled by the UK, including Australia, Canada, India and large parts of Africa.
American Dream - In the Declaration of Independence, all US citizens are promised the right to 'Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.' This has come to mean opportunity for anyone to succeed, whatever their background or origins.
Christopher Columbus - A 15th Century Italian explorer and navigator whose trips across the Atlantic opened the way for European colonisation of the Americas.
Indigenous - Ethnic groups who are the original or earliest-known inhabitants of an area or country: for example, Native Americans in the USA.
Apartheid - A system of legally-enshrined racial discrimination and oppression which existed in South Africa from 1948 until the 1990s. It denied non-white South Africans basic human rights.
Fireworks, flags and the Fourth of July
Glossary
Patriotic - Showing love and pride for your country.
British Empire - A group of countries that were once ruled or controlled by the UK, including Australia, Canada, India and large parts of Africa.
American Dream - In the Declaration of Independence, all US citizens are promised the right to 'Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.' This has come to mean opportunity for anyone to succeed, whatever their background or origins.
Christopher Columbus - A 15th Century Italian explorer and navigator whose trips across the Atlantic opened the way for European colonisation of the Americas.
Indigenous - Ethnic groups who are the original or earliest-known inhabitants of an area or country: for example, Native Americans in the USA.
Apartheid - A system of legally-enshrined racial discrimination and oppression which existed in South Africa from 1948 until the 1990s. It denied non-white South Africans basic human rights.